Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
September 17, 2015 – United Nations(UN), Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) and the African Union(AU) have issued a joint statement condemning the coup in Burkina Faso.
They called on the military to submit to the political authority.
In the joint statement, the three union they have learned with great dismay the abduction by the presidential guards, of the President of Faso, Michel Kafando, the Prime Minister, Yacouba Isaac Zida, and transitional Ministers.
“This incident occurred during the Ministerial Council meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kossyam. The three organisations strongly condemn this gross violation of the Constitution and the Charter of the Transition and demand that the defence and security forces submit to the political authorities and in this case, the transition government”.
“ECOWAS, African Union and United nations call for the immediate release of the hostages. They emphatically state that the abductors will answer for their actions and will be held responsible for any physical harm to the President of the Faso, the Prime Minister and other persons being held hostage.
“The three organisations reaffirm their full support to the Transition at this critical time, for the conclusion of its mission with the conduct of elections scheduled to hold on 11 October 2015.
“They reiterate their determination, in support of the national authorities, to spare no effort in ensuring the successful completion of the transition process in Burkina Faso”, the statement said.
